Not Just Another Birthday

My birthday has come and gone.  As usual, my family and friends made me feel very loved and special.  David is known for his ability to come up with fun, quirky ways to let me know he loves me, but this year takes the cake! He took 2 of my favorite live concerts, Keith Urban and Country Thunder, and wrapped them up in one fun, sweet video tribute to me.  Thanks to my son in law, Ethan, for doing this.  Enjoy!

Faith, Fortitude, Fullfillment

I had an instant connection with this conference talk by Elder David S. Baxter: Faith, Fortitude, Fulfillment: A Message to Single Parents.  I was raised by a single mother.  My father died when I was 14 years old, 5 of 8 children still at home.  (Nick not pictured as he was on his mission.)  My mother was refined in the refiners fire during this time after my father died.  She never remarried but talked of wanting someone to talk things over with, never feeling more alone than in a room full of people.  She never spoke of the financial burden she bore, but I knew it was great.  Always a stay at home mom, she now had to work to support her family.  In addition she cared for her own mother in our home.  She waited up for me, counseled me and I found her on her knees in prayer.  She was an example to me then, a greater example to me now.

"Although you may at times have asked, 'Why me?' it is through the hardships of life that we grow towards godhood as our character is shaped in the crucible of affliction; as the events of life take place while God respects the agency of man. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell commented, we cannot do all the sums or make it all add up because "we do not have all the numbers."


"Meanwhile, you are striving to raise your children in righteousness and truth, knowing that while you cannot change the past, you can shape the future.  Along the way you will obtain compensatory blessing, even if they are not immediately apparent."


"With God's help, you need not fear for the future.  Your children will grow up and call you blessed, and every single one of their many achievements will stand as a tribute to you."

I hope I am a tribute to you, Mom.  That is my wish this Mother's Day.  

And A Little Child Shall Lead Them

"One of the great discoveries of parenthood is that we learn far more about what really matters from our children than we ever did from our parents.  We come to recognize the truth in Isaiah's prophecy that "a little child shall lead them."

President Boyd K. Packer,
April 2012 Conference
"And A Little Child Shall Lead Them"

Remembering and Forgetting

The past few months I have been reading  Mom's Letters to her family from her missions to Mexico City and Guatamala.  I have  found such inspiration and comfort from her words.  I can see her and hear her talking to me.  I almost feel like these letters were written for me NOW, not when she actually wrote them.  Kind of like the scriptures.  

I have been impressed to compile & transcribe these letters into book form so that they can be shared with the generations of her family.  This is a labor of love that is daunting and yet immensely satisfying to me.

Because of Mom's dementia, I have been obsessed with the beauty and pain of remembering and forgetting.   I am fascinated by the things that she remembers at the end of her life, and also what it all means now that she has  forgotten people and details that once seemed so important.  

Mom is a great person that has affected countless peoples lives for good.  Although the Mom I once knew is gone, the things that are important to her remain:  God, Family, Missionary Work. Its amazing how these priorities in her life seep through and still permeate her thoughts.  It shows me that her commitment to the gospel is so deep that even dementia can't take it away.  

Country Thunder 2012

Country Thunder 2012

After living in Phoenix for 12 years, I finally got David to go to Country Thunder with me in Florence. He knows the one thing that is really important to me is my music! The setting is beautiful and the atmosphere is so fun!

I had such a great time pretending to be a cowgirl.

Here's my cowboy!

This is the Ely Young Band. I'm wearing their T-shirt from their title song "Crazy Girl".

Craig Morgan sang for an hour and a half!

But the highlight was Dierks Bentley. He is home grown from Phoenix. He was awesome and sang all my favorite songs.

I met up with one of my favorite co-workers, Nicole. Although she is 20+ years younger than me, she treats me like a sister. We couldn't stop laughing when we realized we had the same cowboy hat!

Caroline (Nicole's roommate), Nicole and Me

Such a fun night!

Easter Sunday Thoughts

1 John 4:19. "We love him, because he first loved us."

This scripture captures the beauty and majesty of our Savior Jesus Christ.

I love the fact that the first person the resurrected Christ appeared to was a woman.

I love reading books. I've recently read two self help books. I enjoyed them and learned from them. But the interesting thing is, these particular self help books are successful because they contain principles found in the scriptures. Principles Christ not only taught but lived. One of the reasons we are asked to read the scriptures daily is that the principles and power contained in them can help us solve our problems and become more like Christ.

Christ was not just a great teacher. He IS the Son of God. He is our Redeemer. I know He lives. The atonement is central to Heavenly Fathers plan of happiness. He did so much for us and asks so little in return.

Payson Family Retreat

We took a trip to Payson to stay in a cabin at Kohl's Ranch. It was beautiful and right next to a stream. This is Tristan enjoying the ride on our way there.

We had the grandchildren decorate buckets for them to put their prizes from Grandpa's store. For each good deed, they earned a ticket. They could "purchase" prizes from the store.

Lucy playing with the kids. Aaron couldn't come because of work so Lucy tackled her 5 kids alone!

Lindsay, Donnie and Gavin

This is a cool tree stump just above the creek. Lillian is standing on top. Our cabins are in the background.

My favorite picture of the grandkids of the trip.

David cooked 2 meals for us. He BBQ'd a selection of meats and fish. He also made his famous taco's (shown here)

Just before we left for the trip, Thurston busted his brow open on the corner of a table. :( We thought it would steri-strip but by the time we got to Payson, it had broken open. Kim and Ethan had to take him to the ER.

David playing in the stream with the grandkids.

Dinner outside our cabins

Ivy and Atticus crawled up and down these rocks! Kim planned a cool Easter project for the kids and I didn't get one picture!!

Elsie playing hide and seek.

The end.